Man Pleads Guilty to|Robbing 9/11 Charity

MANHATTAN (CN) - An executive from the September 11th Families Association pleaded guilty to stealing more than $17,500 from the charity.

Between July 2009 and April 2010, Claudio Tavarez wrote 15 checks to himself from the charity's account.

Tavarez, who worked for the association as comptroller, hid the payments by claiming on the register that the checks were going out to vendors, according to the criminal complaint. He was charged with grand larceny and falsifying business records.

Tavarez pleaded guilty on Wednesday to third degree grand larceny. He will pay full restitution and is expected to face nine months in prison at sentencing on Sept. 8.

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